Video: Make hearty fall comfort foods like hot pot pie

Closed captioning of: Make hearty fall comfort foods like hot pot pie

>>>we're back now at 8:41 and on today's kitchen with tasty ways to use your leftovers.

>>the ideas come from the pioneer woman and her new cookbook a year of holidays and she is out with a new children's book. good morning.

>>good morning. thanks for having me.

>>you got me with the smell walking in here and chicken potpie which is my absolute favorite.

>>it's
comfort food
to the max, isn't it?

>>it is.

>>and sizzling in the pan doesn't hurt.

>>it has to do with leftovers too.

>>you can cook your own chicken or use leftover thanksgiving turkey. you could buy a chicken and cut it into pieces.

>>how about pizza?

>>that is absolutely inspired. let me tell you.

>>okay. you have a couple of vegetables in there sauteing.

>>regular onions, carrots and celery. then you go in with your cooked poultry. i have a new holiday
cook book
out and i have a whole section of
thanksgiving leftovers
. i roast huge turkeys to have the le leftovers. so after this all cooks a
little
bit, it's time to thicken it. so a
little
bit of flour and serve that around. natalie, pour in the broth.

>>okay. broth first.

>>then let that thicken up. we're fast forwarding today.

>>the whole thing.

>>the whole thing in there and i love putting it in potpie because it gives it this beautiful color.

>>yeah.

>>so this thickens eventually with a
little
cream to this which is just -- i mean, i could just put this in a spoon and eat it as lunch.

>>now to create the pie, first of all, store bought crust or do you insist people make it at home.

>>i don't insist. whatever crust you have. do a big potpie like we have here or you can do
little
individual ones which is fun if you're having company. do individual
pot pies
and then roll out your piecrust. i cut squares. put it on top and this is a
little
bit of a fancy crust approach but i like the rustic approach. rustic means lazy in my world.

>>brush it with a
little
egg.

>>a
little
egg wash and bake it until it's nice and bubbly.

>>beautiful.

>>amazing.

>>real quickly, you have a
caesar salad
here and can we go without the anchovies?

>>we have leave out the anchovies for you. it's a blender dressing. it's
olive oil
. help me natalie.

>>sure thing.

>>vinegar,
lemon juice
.

>>parmesan.

>>exactly. no anchovies.

>>put them in.

>>let's live a
little
.

>>just the whole thing.

>>pop it in there and i like things like this. just swirl it around in the blender and this is what it looks like. so this takes a few seconds.

With fall here, it's the perfect time for some comfort food. Here, Ree Drummond makes two recipes from her new cookbook, "The Pioneer Woman: A Year of Holidays." Try her turkey pot pie with the perfect pie crust and a hearty Caesar salad.

Preparation

For croutons:

Preheat the oven to 250°F. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter in the olive oil. Cut the bread into 1- to 1 ½-inch cubes, then throw them into a large bowl.

Drizzle in the butter/oil mixture and toss them until they’re all coated. Stir together the Italian seasoning, kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes and sprinkle the mixture all over the bread cubes.

Toss the bread around to coat. Spread it out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, tossing twice, until the croutons are crisp with just a small amount of chewiness. Set them aside to cool completely.

For Caesar dressing:

Add the olive oil and garlic to a blender. Add the anchovies. Don’t be grossed out! You won’t even know they’re there. Next, add the Dijon, vinegar, Worcestershire, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Blend the dressing until totally smooth, then add the Parmesan and blend until smooth again.

For salad:

Cut the lettuce into bite-size pieces and throw it into a large bowl. Drizzle in three-quarters of the dressing, then toss it around. Sprinkle on the Parmesan shavings, then toss it again.

Toss in the croutons (along with all the crispy bits from the baking pan). Taste the salad to check the dressing amount; if you think it needs more, add it and toss the salad.